Bouquets: A Year of Flowers and Settings for the Table

I was the daughter who set the table in our house. I loved arranging the flowers and bringing out the "good dishes" and linens from the china cabinet and the kitchen cupboards to make pretty settings for dinner. From age ten I was encouraged to help with family parties and my aunt’s "lady lunches." I got lavish praise from the grown-ups.

My mother and grandmother always made special decorations for every holiday: paper-and-doily Valentines, shamrock cutouts for Saint Patrick’s Day, elaborately colored Easter eggs, and woven paper baskets filled with flowers from our garden (and, I confess, the neighbors’ gardens) for May Day. For Halloween we cut out skeleton garlands and carved pumpkins with scary faces lit by candles inside. Thanksgiving and Christmas brought out the decorations, the best china and, of course, flowers to arrange complementing the holiday theme. For special occasions, my mom shares the dishes she has inherited and collected for many years, so my sisters and I have continued our family custom to this day.

The inspiration for this book came to me when my mother and I went on a trip to Hong Kong and Indonesia. Time-zone changes left us unable to sleep, so we lay in our beds and invented fantasy table settings with ideas for pretty flower arrangements until we nodded off. I thought sharing how we used our own and borrowed items to create entertaining tables would be fun and inspire readers to set tables that invite compliments and start conversations. We all are entertaining at home more than ever today, and a table set with care and imagination makes your guests feel especially welcome. More couples are opting to have their weddings at home too, renting the furniture and tableware and making the flower arrangements themselves.

Setting the table is like dressing for a party. You take your theme from the event or from your favorite flowers, dishes, or linens. Dress the table with the cloth and complimentary china in matching or contrasting colors. Add napkins as you would a belt or scarf, and finish with the jewelry—shiny flatware, napkin rings, candles, and place cards or favors. Your centerpiece is the fabulous hat or corsage that sets off your outfit for the occasion.

This book gives you ideas for making your table beautiful, creating an atmosphere that makes your guests and family feel special. I encourage you to bring out your wedding china and family treasures from the cupboard, look for bargains to embellish the table, and try dramatic color combinations, fun accessories, and easy-to-create centerpieces with flowers from every season of the year.

The centerpiece is the star of the table. Using simple techniques and a few basic tools and supplies, you can make a wonderful flower arrangement. Be imaginative about the containers—serving pieces, boxes, buckets, a fish bowl, seashells, or a teapot work as well as a vase or basket. Mirror the design on your china with the same flowers or colors for a coordinated look.

A gorgeous table doesn’t have to be set with fancy or expensive items. And the dishes don’t have to match. You can mix plain dinner plates with salad plates and cups of a different pattern and add a collection of mismatched glasses and silverware. Charity shops, garage sales, flea markets, and discount and import stores are great sources for inexpensive flower containers, flatware, glasses, and linens. Make sure to check out the resource guide in the back of this book to help you find most of the items I’ve used on the tables. Some were generously loaned to me for this book, some were purchased in national chain stores, and some can be found online.

If you don’t have the perfect tablecloth, use a sheet, fabric, or a curtain panel. White linens are not the most exciting, so bring on color, and contrast the napkins with the tablecloth. Try dyeing plain white napkins to complement your dishes. I’ve dyed the same cotton napkins several times. I just soak them in bleach between uses and dye them again. You can make place cards on your computer— use any font you wish and print them on cardstock or glossy photo paper. Or decorate the table with souvenirs from your travels, your precious collections, and even your old costume jewelry.

When you have a large party, borrow from your family and friends. My rule is you must invite the person who loans you their tableware. The spring wedding in this book has several tables. Each one is different, decorated with possessions of the couple’s sisters or friends. Preparation to entertain at home can be as much fun as the party itself, and the reward for your effort is so satisfying for both you and your guests. They will appreciate all the thought and planning you put into creating warmth and drama on a well-decorated table, and will respond by having a great time.